OUR OPINION: Cuts targeting most vulnerable are most costly

The state’s dire fiscal picture certainly justifies plans to cut back on certain public services, but when such cuts threaten to end up costing more than they save common sense should prevail.

Proposals to close the 16-bed psychiatric unit at Quincy Mental Health Center and the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center in Bridgewater are examples of where short-term savings are likely to result in much higher financial and societal costs in the long run.

The state Department of Correction said the drug treatment program for men, on the grounds of Bridgewater State Hospital, will close Nov. 6 because of budget cuts.

It is one of the few places where addicts can get free 30-day detox and counseling, an important resource for those who cannot afford to pay for treatment.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Mental Health said it must close the 16-bed psychiatric unit in Quincy by Oct. 30 to help plug a $13 million budget deficit. It has already stopped accepting new patients and is now referring them to clinics in Tewksbury, Taunton and Worcester, but only if beds are free. It also has been an invaluable resource for families in this region.

In both cases, people denied access to the services these centers provide are more likely to see their potentially manageable problems spin out of control.

Rather than being protected by a safety net, they are more likely to be snared in the web of law. Rather than paying to treat them, we pay to try them. Rather than getting help in a clinical setting, they end up in emergency rooms, which are already overburdened and where care is much more expensive.

“If we close, emergency rooms will be swamped,” said Joe Zygmunt Jr., who works at the Quincy center.

Along the way, the crimes committed mean someone else becomes a victim, either physically or financially.

It makes no sense.

The state Department of Public Health said the leading cause of death of young adults in this state is opiate overdose. So how do you justify closing a program that helps them beat their addiction?

The Department of Mental Health indicated last week the Quincy closing might be reversed once the state’s budget crisis is behind it.

That’s a step in the right direction but still leaves a dangerous and expensive gap between now and then.

Better that the savings be found in a way that doesn’t in turn create new and higher costs and in a way that doesn’t put neighbors, family and friends in harm’s way.